Momentum
by dotRHEA
Summary: Alice Gehabich could never have guess that there was more to her family than just her grandfather and mother. Never would she have guessed that he was still alive. But life just loved to prove her wrong and ruin her life once again. Slightly AU
1. Questions With the Truth

Alice shifted uncomfortably as her aunt and grandfather started arguing about something that seemed far too complicated for her head to comprehend—that or she just wasn't in the mood to listen. She preferred the later.

The girl glanced nervously at her uncle across the table who just sat and sipped his cup of coffee like this happened every day. Alice couldn't understand why he was this calm—his wife looked as if she was ready to rip his father's head off and all he was doing was sitting back and read the morning newspaper.

Alice straightened in her spot as she let out a quiet sigh that had gone unheard in the midst of the screaming voices of her relatives. How long had it been since she was in Wardington with the brawlers? How long had it been since she last seen the brawlers in person? How long had her life finished its terrifying roller coaster ride?

3 years.

Three years had passed since she last seen the Brawlers, been in Wardington, started her roller coaster like life. It was three years and most definitely everyone's lives would have returned back to normal. Almost as if the whole incident with Naga and the bakugan had never happened before.

_That is... if you call this normal…_

"It's been sixteen years! How long are you planning to keep it a secret?" Karen was screaming.

"As long as I have to, Karen! She doesn't need to know such useless-" Michael started but was quickly cut off,

"Useless? Oh, so now you're telling me that whether or not Alice's-" said girl's ears perked up at the mention of her name but sadly her uncle decided to step up and stopped the conflict between the two adults.

While her grandfather crossed his arms in his chair and her aunt Karen retreated to the kitchen with her husband, Alice couldn't help but stare at him in awe.

_How could Hal G be such an ugly creature when he was actually my grandfather_? She asked herself.

It wasn't just the appearance, it was the personality too.

Surely such a vile creature wasn't capable of being so caring and generous. Nonetheless able to take care of a child for years on end without any attempted murder.

"Alice is there something on my face?" her grandfather asked as he shuffled in his chair, clearing his lips of any remnants of food with a handkerchief.

_Right…?_

"Oh! No... No, y-you're fine. I was just daydreaming, that's all…" the girl laughed nervously as she reverted back to reality.

_I shouldn't think that much…_ she thought to herself as Michael started asking her question about her health and what not. Alice struggled to answer them properly.

"It's getting late, father. You and Alice should stay for the night," Ben started, reappearing from the kitchen, alone.

"If it's not so much of a trouble, son. We wouldn't want to burden you two…" Michael said- his previous anger subsided.

"No! It's fine; it's the least we can do. Karen apologizes for the things she said earlier—but really Father… you have to tell her sooner or later… she's a grown up girl after all." Alice could feel all eyes on her as her grandfather started mumbling under his breath.

She knew they were talking about her. She just knew. And she hated how they were always talking about her as if she wasn't in the same room as them; the redhead had to ball her fists together to keep all the anger in.

As Michael excused himself to the restroom, her uncle turned to face Alice "Come, I'll show you to your room. Karen's getting your clothes ready."

The redhead nodded and followed her uncle up to the attic bedroom she had inhabited that one day three years ago. Nostalgia crept through her veins as she sat down on the fluffy bed sheets, breathing in the faint smell of jasmine and lavender.

Alice collapsed onto the bed in tired breaths as she let her heavy eyelids get the better of her.

"Alice." She could hear the door squeak forward as Karen entered the room.

"Mmmm…?" she hummed, too tired for words.

There was a long silence before Karen spook again,

"What would you do if your dad was alive somewhere in Russia today?"

…

"Alice?"

Said girl could only jolt forward and stare at her aunt in pure shock, words refused to form as her lips were left agape.

_The question was simply…_

_Impossible._

_Improbable._

_Incomprehensible._

_Sudden._

_Absurd._

"Heh…" _Believable?_ "What do you mean Aunt Karen? My father died a long time ago."

A single frown formed upon her aunt's lips as she stared at her niece sorrowfully. She'll never understand… would she?

No… Alice was still too young… too innocent. Was all she could think of as she came in and set the items of clothing down.

Oh how shocked she would be when she finds out why exactly Alice had shown up at her doorstep that one rainy night.

"Never mind." She whispered as she rearranged the items of clothing and once again stared at her beautiful niece. "I got you a change of clothes. I hope it fits you and everything… have a good night's sleep ok, Alice?"

Sitting at the foot of her bed, Alice nodded and whisper a quiet 'night' as her aunt left as soon as she came, leaving the fifteen year old with as many thoughts to contemplate. Outside her mind's eye, she could see Karen close the door silently—not before sneaking a peak at her.

"Alice?" it was barely audible but the girl could still hear it.

"Yeah?" she looked at her aunt worriedly, maybe if she could…

"I said something stupid—don't mind what I said ok? Just… change and go to sleep." And with a tolerant smile, her aunt Karen closed the door behind her.

Alice fell back onto the bed, waiting for the recognition to dawn upon her.

Alice didn't want to think anymore, she didn't want to dwell upon it any longer. It was just like what her grandfather said—her body urged not to think about such trivial matters. But her mind?

There was only one thing swerving around in her mind at the moment….

_What if it was all true?_

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**Yup, this is one of the possible five summer stories I'm going to work on. I have chapter three finished already and I'm editing and if possible—this story might be updated every Saturday and/or Wednesday… I still have to decide.**

**Urghhh… I hate this chapter so much but I don't want to change it. It seems so rushed! If I made any grammar or punctuation mistakes please review and tell me.**

**Does anyone know what Alice's parents' names are? Cause if you do—then please tell me because I don't want to use Sofiya and whatever the ever so famous dad's name is (no offense if you used it).**


	2. Dreams Tell a Lie

**Here's another crappy chapter for everyone. You have no idea how much I hate the first two chapters. I'm sorry if it's confusing and everything but I promise it'll make sense more into the story! Oh! And I decided that I'll only update on Saturday since I don't have enough chapters ready to update two days a week. So Wednesday would be my catch-up day for any Saturday I missed!**

**Sorry it's kind of rushed after the dream. I'm too lazy to go back and fix whatever I wrote on my ipod. I will in the future. Promise! Oh and I changed my pen name (again), check my profile to keep up with who in the world I was previously! lolz  
**

**I do not own Bakugan!

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There really isn't anything special about it; Alice was sleeping and she dreamt herself back in Wardington with the brawlers. She was waitressing like the good old days.

It was a beautiful day; the girl could hear the birds sing their heavenly chime as the sunshine broke through and into the restaurant upon a single table. It was so nostalgic, the busy buzz in her ear as she went from table to table, the feeling of welcome as she gazed upon familiar faces and how her heart jumped when she gaze upon the table where the brawlers sat.

Everyone was there- Dan, Runo, shun, Julie, March… Masquerade.

Masquerade was there too. But no one seemed to be mad about it, they just acted… normally. As if he was never the bad guy. As if he belonged along side with them all along. And they were talking to him, laughing, smiling. Joking.

Even shun seemed to be comfortable around the ex masked villain.

Dream- Alice wasn't surprised as she set drinks down onto the table.

Masquerade shifted, turning towards her. He smiled—and no not a smirk, a REAL smile.

Alice could feel her heart jump again as she returned the smile. In the background she could hear Dan slurping his drink quite loudly as Runo scolded him. Julie looked as if she wanted to tell the redhead something but she turned away to continue working.

A hand shot up and grabbed her arm. Twirling around, she was faced with the blond who was towering over her.

Strange enough, she wasn't surprised at their height difference—despite sharing the same body before.

As he opened his lips to thank her, Alice jolted awake by hands shaking her awake.

"Alice! Alice! Wake up!" a voice croaked out to her, shaking her more violently each time her name slipped past her lips. "Alice! WAKE UP!"

"Nnnn…. What is it?" the girl muttered as she sat up right and tried to pry her relative's shaking hand off her shoulders. "What's going on?"

Her aunt Karen just stared at her in bewilderment before stuttering "y-your gran-grand-father… Michael… h-he…."

"What happened to grandfather?" she hissed, grasping a hold of her aunt's sleeve. She was too busy to notice the extra voice add to her own as Karen only shook more violently herself—tears starting to stream down her cheeks now.

She started to mumble but whatever she was trying to say was too faint for Alice to understand and finally letting go of her aunt's collar, the redhead ran out of the room slamming the door behind her.

A billion thoughts raced through her mind as she jolted down the stairs. What happened? Was he alright? Will he make it?

Alice, stop worrying. A voice inside her head whispered to her. But it went unheard over the sound of her heart beating.

My grandfather could be… could be… Alice couldn't bring herself to even think of the word, a loud thump thump thump banged on in her head as she rounded the corner.

He's going to be fine. Her 'conscious reassured her.'

How do you know that? Alice snapped. Although it's a bit strange to be yelling to yourself.

Her consciousness fell silent as she grabbed the door knob to her grandfather's room.

There was a horrible moment of hesitation when her hand touched the cold metal surface.

What if…

Alice cleared her head of these thoughts as she pushed the door wide open. Inside she saw something that would change her life forever.

Falling onto her knees as tears threatened to fall didn't mean anything as to why she was too stubborn to pull her eyes away from the sight. She tried to calm herself down but it was no use, even the controlling voice in her head was no use.

The answer was right in front of but she tried to neglect it.

Maybe he's playing a joke!

Maybe he's just asleep…

Maybe….

Ben was at the side of Michael's bed, sobbing and holding onto his hand for his dear life. When he heard the door opening and something crashing towards the floor, he squared his shoulders and faced his niece,

She was shaking her head desperately and was staring at her grandfather's ghostly white hand.

No.

No.

NO.

She was mouthing to herself as Ben only held onto his father's hand tighter. He was silent as he gently dropped it by his side and walked over to Alice.

He gave her the most solemn and yet pitiful frown ever as he made his way towards her and Alice hated it.

He's lying

They're lying.

Everyone's lying.

No one said a thing.

As he came closer to her, the sixteen year old only tried to crawl away from him as he neared kicking distance.

"Alice." He breathed, leaning down to her height on the ground.

Alice screamed and crawled away, hoping that he'll stop advancing towards her.

Go away!

Don't touch me!

Spare me your lies!

Spare me your tears!

He didn't stop, he only came closer. Taking cautious steps as if she was a nightingale and he had a small hope of her flying and landing onto his finger tips.

"Alice." he said again.

"No! I don't want to hear it! Leave me alone!" Alice protested, placing her hands over her ears and shutting her eyes as if this was all a bad dream—no a nightmare. A loud scream would escape her lips every time her uncle tried to tell her to calm down.

He couldn't be…

He shouldn't be…

He's…

"Alice I'm sorry, but your grandfather has passed away."


	3. A New School Year

**This has been on my iPod for two freaking months! So I'm sorry for the long wait and sorry for the short chapter!**

Alice stood awkwardly by herself as teachers started to bicker amongst themselves. She watched as her would-be history teacher tried to snatch the coffee cup away from the chemistry teacher's hand and the principle in the corner sipping his hot chocolate for dear life.

If this was what public schools were like then Alice might never survive through the first day without getting a migraine.

It had been a month after her grandfather's funeral and Alice was just coping with the lost. So in hope to finally live on in his memory, she hoped that to start anew starting with a public school in Moscow. Despite the glorious choice of just moving to Wardington and going to school with the brawlers.

The redhead was regretting that choice more and more as the teachers fought over whoever got which coffee cup and why.

Maybe if I just…

"Alice Gehabich was it?" a voice asked, bursting into the room.

Alice turned around to see a middle aged man, beaming into the staff room wearing a Hawaiian shirt and shorts. The girl nodded hesitantly as the rest of the staff members settled down.

"Perfect! I came to pick you up!" he beamed and held a hand for her to shake, "I'm Mr. Dmitri by the way—your homeroom teacher. Call me Dmitri for short."

Alice smiled to herself as she shook the older man's hand.

Maybe it wouldn't be that bad… she thought to herself as Dmitri led her to her homeroom.

"Sorry about the other teachers…" Dmitri started and laughed nervously "they're kind of…"

"Oh no, its fine. Most of my friends are like that." The girl replied quickly adding a certain name in the back of her head. _Dan…_

As Dmitri started asking her questions about herself and reassuring her that she'll make plenty of friends in this school—Alice couldn't help but stare at his appearance.

He looked familiar and yet he wasn't—he looked like an older Joe but with more wrinkles, a bald head and smile lines. Alice was tempted to rub his head and pray for good luck as an influence of said web master's girlfriend.

"Are you ready?" the teacher asked excitingly as he reached for the door knob to the classroom.

Inside a chorus of screams and laughter could be heard, causing Alice to swallow nervously.

_No._

Dmitri swung the door open and told Alice to stay outside and come in when he called.

Somehow his attitude reminded the redhead of her friend Klaus…

Alice played with her fingers nervously as Dmitri's loud voice started booming through the walls. It made her hope that her health wouldn't play a big part of her time here and that migraines would only be the worst of her symptoms.

'_You'll be fine, Alice._' her conscious told her.

'_Last time you told me that, something horrible happened.' _She snapped at herself, not caring how crazy it seemed.

'You'll make new friends and…' the voice in her head ignored the previous comment and went on about the beauty of youth and what not in that deep raspy voice of-

Wait. Deep? Raspy?

Aren't consciousnesses supposed to sound like you?

_My voice isn't-_

"A warm welcome to Alice Gehabich!_"_

The girl snapped form her reverie and almost trembled to the floor as she heard her name being called. Hesitantly, she entered the room as a chorus of wolf whistles and mutters came over the room.

_Please make it stop. Please make it stop. Please make it stop._ She pleaded as she looked around the classroom, and the chorus only becoming louder and louder.

Alice felt uncomfortable, all the attention made her want to crawl into a corner and cry. All eyes were on her but the noise never seized as Alice began to shake violently.

_What do I do? What do I do?_

"Alice?" Mr. Dmitri asked hesitantly, giving the girl a worried glance.

Alice apologized abruptly as she balled her fists.

_It's going to be ok… it's going to be ok…_

'_They're waiting…_'

"I am Alice Gehabich, pleased to meet you all. Please take good care of me…" she breathed and bowed stubbornly.

_This was what Klaus had taught me when I came to take a crash course on introductions over at his place_… Alice could remember it vividly, Klaus lecturing her for hours—telling her to stop being so shy… _I hope no one would find it weird._

Her classmates broke out into a chorus of applause and the teacher beamed at her. He mouthed something like a 'good job' to her before assigning her to her seat.

She breathed a sigh of relief as Dmitri tried to find her a spot.

_I hope nothing wrong would happen…_

Just as that thought entered her mind. Just as Dmitri figured out which seat she would sit in. Just as Alice thought that the madness would stop…

The door slammed open and in came…

"Guess who's back?"

Masquerade…

**Alice isn't in character? My writing is too rushed? The chapter is boring? The chapter was bad? TELL ME IN A REVIEW! :D**


	4. Mysterious Identity

**Thank you all for following 'Momentum'! Before I start the chapter—I would like to say that I am very quick in finding stories that are duplicated from mine. So I advise you ****not ****to do that. Or to any other people's stories. I might be acting very immaturely by simply stating this but seriously if you have time to copy and paste then just go get a life and write your own damn shit. And to all my readers… if you find a story that you think is a rip-off of mine or ****is ****mine but not from this account then tell me right away and report it immediately by pressing the 'report abuse' button on the small menu left of the review button. Love ya! Here's your chapter now… :)**

**(You can skip this paragraph and go to the chapter) On a side note! I got re-inspired writing this by watching 'Hitman Reborn!' I started last week and currently on episode 85, so yeah… Go watch it! :3

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"Masquerade…" the red head muttered quietly to herself; unaware that her alter ego's name just slipped past her lips. She felt slightly light headed as she locked eyes with the boy.

It was strange… the guy look nothing like the masked villain. He had one of those side swept bangs and gelled up hairstyles you'll think only a pop star could pull off. His hair was blond like Masquerade's yes but it was streaked with red and even had a feather hanging from a long lock of his hair. His face—or just his cheeks as Alice couldn't muster up the courage to look into his eyes any longer was decorated with scars and tattoos. The girl had no idea what she saw in him but she just knew he was somehow connected with her alter ego…

Faintly, the voice in her head grunted in disbelief but she could hardly hear it as she took a step back away from the delinquent who was advancing towards her. He was beaming at her surprised when he strided straight at her and grabbed both of her arms. Alice winced at the sudden pain that shot through her arms as the scent of cigarettes embraced the air.

"Whoa! You look like Mistress Natalia!" He announced happily.

_Natalia?_

"Ivan! What are you doing back in Russia?" An equally surprised voice asked causing the delinquent's grip to soften on Alice. She immediately retreated and rubbed her arms as 'Ivan' turned to look at Dmitri who was pointing a loose finger at him.

Around the classroom, Alice could hear her classmates mutter to each other, something about 'Italy' and 'school'.

Just as she her innocent high school laugh was over, Ivan and Dmitri started to engage in a conversation that almost seemed like they were long lost brothers.

Alice was confused beyond belief, she had no idea what was going on and felt uncomfortable under everyone's stares.

She really did regret refusing Runo's offer to move back to Wardington now…

Oh what she would do for some peace and quiet and some—

"Oi. Now that I think about it… I haven't seen Natalia around lately… and as creepy as she is, she wouldn't pretend to be a high-school-er, so who are you?" Alice let out a gasp of surprise as Ivan's face popped out of nowhere and in front of her line of sight. Blood rose to her cheeks as she was forced to look into Ivan's onyx orbs…

_He doesn't even look like Masquerade, so why…_

She took a deep breath before answering but just as words were beginning to form… Alice felt like she was hit by a bullet in the chest.

She let out a strangled gasp before doubling over in pain.

The pain was agonizing.

It was excruciating.

It simply hurt to breathe.

Her breaths burned in her throat and her senses started to numb. She could barely hear her classmates' cried of surprise. Her eyes grew heavy as she continued to clutch her chest tightly. Tears were welling up in her eyes—threatening to fall.

She faintly remembered being carried out but everything was so chaotic, she forgot she was even so alive.

The pain grew worse each second and before she blacked out from the pain. She could hear a calm, velvet and reminiscent voice whisper to her in the back of her mind…

"_You will be fine, Alice…"_

Unconsciously, she smiled to herself as she thought back of her alter ego.

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**This was written 1 o'clock in the morning mind you. So yeah and I'm too lazy to write what happens after so you probably have to wait for a few weeks/months before I update this story again because I'm going back to my other fandom and story.**

**Reviews make faster updates!**


	5. Dream Walker

**Wow… it's been what? Four-five months? I'm sorry guys. Too caught up with my current fandom. It is freaking awesome. So yeah… so I started typing this up on my iPhone on Jan 16 and I'm FINALLY done! Hurray! So here's your extremely short chapter for all you little chickies who are still reading this! Love ya! **_Is it me or does Ivan sound like a fifteen year old Xanxus to you? But blond of course. XD_

**I do not own Bakugan or any of the KHR references I just sprang.

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From time to time, the redhead would always dream up of a woman. With faded auburn hair. She had no face. It was always her back that Alice saw. But her voice was like wind chimes in the summer breeze, a sweet temptation to something possibly evil.

She was always doing something in her dreams. She would sing, she would talk, she would cry, she would dance…. always something. And Alice would watch. Silent and chained by invisible bonds.

But in this dream, she stood statuesque. Unmoving. Only the autumn breeze could interpret she was an actual person as it blew against her skirt.

Something told her she was waiting for someone.

Just then, a leaf launched itself at Alice and the girl made a move to brush it aside. Then she realized something.

She could move in this dream.

So she glided over to the woman with auburn hair. She never felt more ecstatic, _finally!_ She could see the face of the woman who was haunting her dreams for years!

Just as Alice was about to reach over and tap her on the shoulder, something flickered and she found herself yanked upwards with a large weight on top of her… forehead?

Hesitantly, she woke up to see a pair of onyx eyes glaring back at her.

"Hey, Natalia's clone. Dmitri's going to kill me if you miss fifth period too." He said calmly, shaking her lightly. Alice felt her head pound and she let out a gasp and pulled away from the boy in desperation.

Ivan watched curiously as Alice rolled into fetal position, curled up in a mess of blankets and shaking limbs. She was mumbling something, Ivan wasn't sure. He would've walked away by now had the curiously not been poking at him for hours.

"W-what time is it now?" the girl's shaky voice shook him out of his thoughts and he stared at the clock silently. "Almost one." He answered.

This was when the girl looked up. And really looked at him. At _him_. He felt his heart skip a beat as she examined his face curiously. Just like she was doing a few hours ago. Alice was cute, Ivan had to admit and had this been another day, he would've already celebrated his luck with such a hot catch. But it wasn't everyday and there's was still an oath he had to keep up with.

Then she said it again and he snapped.

That name. That godforsaken name.

He didn't even have any idea why he felt so frustrated with such a simple elaborate word.

Alice had to bite her lip to keep the scream from coming. She did it again. She let that name escape her lips again. And now for whatever reason, she found herself trapped by a strong arm that just narrowly missed her head.

"Who. Are. You." He hissed and Alice swallowed nervously.

The voice in her head kept telling to calm down and get the hell away but her legs didn't budge. Her mind went dead and she just shook in fear as he hissed again.

"Alice…" was all she managed to say before her heard started to pound wildly. Images of piling bodies, guns and a grassy meadow filled her mind as she rolled into fetal position again. The voice in her head tried to comfort her but (his) voice just got mixed with the symphony of screams and cries blaring in her ears. "Make it stop… make it stop… make it stop…." She was crying.

Her eyes flashed and she saw an image of her alter ego before she collapsed again, "Masquerade."

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In the dream, Alice would grasp the woman's shoulder, giving it a light shove. And in the dream, the woman would turn around and the redhead would finally be able to see the face of the lady who was haunting her dreams every since she could remember.

But in the dream, she was back where she started, watching and unable to move. The lady was still there. Silent. Unmoving. Under a lamppost on a dead street, her skirt dancing this way and that. Alice groaned inwardly as she realized that she just missed her chance when…

Wait… what exactly happened?

She was here watching the woman in the dream… wait. She was dreaming? She was still sleeping?

The dream flickered and vanished as she jolted up, colliding with another person. Said person fell back and groaned in pain as Alice examined her surroundings. Memories rushing back to her. She was still in the infirmary. Ivan had tried to wake her up. He snapped when her alter ego's name escaped her lips and – oh god.

"Man, for someone who has lived in Moscow all her life, you have a pretty weird case of jet lag…" said boy grunted. Alice stared at him blankly before asking the same question she asked when she woke up the first time in the infirmary.

"What time is it?"

Ivan quickly reviewed the symptoms of amnesia in his head before saying "school just got let out. You make awesome first impressions, may I add."

Alice groaned. Why did she even bother going to a public school in the first place? Why couldn't she just take up the Brawler's offer and study abroad in Wardington?

"I have your homework." Ivan said subtly, playing with the metal ring on his finger. "I hope you're up for algebra and the advance science of matter."

He placed the small stack of paper down on the bed beside her, Alice could only groan in protest as she stared at the papers. It wasn't that she hated math and science—her grandfather was a scientist for heavens' sake! Math and science went hand in hand when asked what the young Gehabich's best subjects were. It was just a reminder of her late grandfather- a topic she still had yet to get over.

Ivan stared curiously as Alice's expression changed from playful to upset—women and their mood swings, he thought dismissively as he tossed down Alice's bag on the ground, "sorry, no special treatment today, princess."

If Alice's frown could get any longer, it would've. "Grandfather used to call me" she muttered quietly to herself before jumping right back up, putting on a happy façade. "Well… I-uh, thank you for everything, Ivan! I'm sorry for all the trouble. See you tomorrow!" and with that said, she quickly stuffed everything ion her bag and bolted out the door.

When she was out of the seeing range of the school and Ivan's voice finally started to fade, she quickly yet hesitantly took out a warp card in which she kept safe and out of sight despite all the years.

You kept it. The voice in her head said hopefully. It wasn't a question- more like a happy surprised statement.

Why wouldn't I? She found herself smiling despite herself. She closed her eyes as her physical body banished in a flash of rainbow beams.

In the back of her mind she could have sworn she heard the voice in the back of her head whisper

"I'm glad."

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**Eww… it's so rushed and …**_**bleh**_**. Well I tried. **

**Review?**


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